Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Mark's wife, Hee-young, hung up the phone and with a little satisfied hop
came back to the couch.  She sat down with a little half-smile on her face.


   "What's the good news?" He said, shifting his eyes away from the
television.

   "We're going to take that trip to Chicago," she said, and leaned in a
kissed him quickly.

   "What?  I thought we didn't have the money," he said.  Just three days
ago they'd had another argument over money.  It erupted when he said he
wanted to follow through on their plans to visit Navy Pier, and she pointed
out their paltry bank account.  He worked a low-paying job and she was a
graduate student.

   "Yeah, well, that was then," she said.  "I have a tutoring job.  It'll
pay $200 a month."

   "Is that what the phone call was about?"

   "Yes.  He'll pay at the beginning of the month.  We'll meet once a
week."

   "That's great!  What, does some other Korean want to be tutored
English?"

   "No, this is different," she said.  "He wants to learn Korean."

   "Hmm," he said.  "Who is it?"

   "Chris."

   His happiness deflated.  Chris was one of her fellow graduate students.
He'd long had a thing for Hee-young.  He constantly asked Hee-young for
dates even when she was dating Mark.  She repeatedly turned him down.  He
was too scruffy, she told Mark when they were alone, to mollify him.  He
was thin and rather frail, and he had a grating voice.

   She said it enough that Mark's annoyance at him ebbed with time.  By the
time they were married Chris was invited to the wedding; he took photos. 
Mark's irritation with him never went away completely, because he knew who
Chris thought about when he was alone beating off in his bed, but he
trusted Hee-young.  Besides, he thought, Chris never really had a chance.
Not with Hee-young.  Shortly after he started dating her five years ago one
of his friends came up to him one day and muttered to him,
'Congratulations. You're dating the hottest Korean chick in the
department.'

   And she was hot.  She was about 5'4, with a slim build but sizeable --
but not oversized -- breasts.  Her eye-catching legs were shaped with
pleasant cords of muscle, and her almond eyes shone brightly above her
contagious smile.  He especially like it when her sleek black hair was up,
exposing her long neck.

   She was not perfect.  THey had some trust issues when they were dating
-- he visited early one day and found one of her classmate's hats in her
apartment.  He'd come over with a group to watch a video, she assured him,
and he simply forgot it.  That explanation didn't help much a few days
later when she gasped the guy's name -- Grant -- during sex, but she
insisted she'd said "Great." Mark decided to let it go.  He was 55 percent
sure she was telling the truth, but when they got engaged, and then
married, his suspicions died away completely.  What was past was past, he
told himself.  Everyone has a past.  God knows he did.

   But now, three years after marriage, he felt that old suspicious twinge
return.  She was still working on her dissertation.  The novelty of having
an Asian wife had rubbed off and they dealt with the nitty gritty of
sometimes awkward communication and too-distant relatives.  They were short
on money.  It was their first marital down swing.  They thought money would
resolve it.

   "So," he said, "Chris, huh?  Why does he want to learn Korean?"

   "He said he wants to expand his mind," she said.  "Who cares?  He's
paying up front."

   "Yeah, he wants to expand something, alright," Mark muttered.

   "What?  Aren't you okay with this?" She said.

   "Huh?  Yeah, sure," he said, grabbing for a book.

   "I can cancel it if you want.  I thought you'd be happy, though," she
said.

   "I'm fine," he said.  "I just think...  you should have asked me first."


   "Asked you?  Why?"

   "Because it's a time commitment.  And we don't have much time together
right now."

   "That's what I'm trying to resolve," she said.  "Look, $200 a month
gives us three or four nice dates.  That's a date per weekend.  Isn't that
nice?"

   "Yes, you're right," he said, flipping pages.

   She looked at him.  "Is it because it's Chris?"

   "No!"

   "It is, isn't it," she said, her voice falling.  "When are you going to
get over that?  I'm your wife now!  You're not some dog fighting over a
female.  I don't run off with the winner anymore.  You won."

   "I know," he said.  He smiled and reached out and patted her leg.  "I'm
sorry.  I'm not myself lately."

   "This will help," she said.  "Four dates a month!"

   He smiled, and they kissed.

   **** ****

   Chris and Hee-young met on Thursday evenings because of class schedules.
Due to Mark's unease -- though she agreed not to let that on to Chris --
they met at their house, at 8 p.m., when he was home.  They tutored over
the kitchen table.  Chris was so non-threatening that Mark's fears were
washed away almost immediately.

   Mark's schedule was variable, however, and there were days when he
wasn't home during their sessions.  The first happened on the third week of
tutoring.  The next came two weeks later.  Then his schedule changed
entirely, and he wouldn't be home at all during their sessions.  He decided
that was okay, though two months into the sessions something briefly gave
him pause.

   He got home one night at 10:30, after Chris was gone.  Hee-young was at
the kitchen table working.

   'Wow," he said, "you look nice."

   'What do you mean?"

   "You're wearing lipstick!"

   "I am?" She said, touching her mouth.  "Oh, I am!" She laughed and went
for a tissue.

   "What, is that part of the tutoring contract?" Mark joked.  She gave him
a serious look, saw he was smiling, and smiled.

   "No, we didn't meet tonight.  I had to have dinner with a prospective
student.  Forgot to tell you."

   "Really?  I thought I saw Chris's footprints in the snow."

   "Yeah," she said, turning her head back to her papers.  "He came by to
pick up some work sheets.  I thought I owed him something so I made them
today."

   "I see."

   "Can I get back to work?  Interrogation over?"

   "Sorry.  I was just asking," he said.

   "I know." She looked up at him.  "Look," she said.  "I know you.  We've
been married three years.  Think about it.  Chris?  Do you really think so?
Have you seen him?  Scruffy as ever?  I hate beards.  I hate scruff worse."


   "I know, babe."

   "Good.  Now leave me alone.  Please."

   A month later he was at work on Thursday evening when his boss came to
his desk around 7:30.

   "What else you got going on tonight?" Mr.  Peters said gruffly.

   "Not a bunch," Mark said.  "I just thought I'd do some transcribing
until my shift ends."

   "Why don't you go on home," he said.  "Storm's coming.  It'll be here by
10.  I don't like it when my employees end up in the ditch and go to the
hospital.  Hurts productivity."

   Mark laughed and thanked him.  He gathered his coat and went to the car.
A stiff breeze was blowing.  Something was coming, alright.  He'd be home
early.  As he drove he remembered that Chris was being tutored tonight.  He
frowned.  That meant no chance of a little hanky-panky.  Hee-young had been
a little more frisky lately.  A shame.

   He pulled into the driveway and saw Chris's car, but he was surprised to
see their lights off.  Then he saw the dim glow from the basement, through
the narrow basement windows.  So that's where they tutored now.  He
remembered Hee-young telling him that.  They studied in the computer room.
And right outside the study, he thought, was the bed he used when he was
single.  They kept it sheeted for guests.  But he pressed that thought
aside.  The bottom line was he trusted Hee-young.

   They lived in a cheap but well-built apartment.  The floors didn't
squeak a bit and the walls were well-insulated.  Which meant that if you
were downstairs you didn't hear people moving around upstairs unless the
basement door was open.  When he came in he saw that the basement door was
closed.

   He put away his things and was walking to yell "hello" downstairs when a
thought occurred to him.  They still didn't know he was home.  Chris had
just arrived 10 minutes before.  They had two hours, and they thought they
had the place all to themselves.  If Hee-young was cheating on him, Mark
thought, this would be a perfect opportunity to do it.  And, since he
didn't call before coming home, this was his perfect chance to put to check
into it.  He was 95 percent sure his fears would finally be put to rest.

   Mark grabbed a can of WD-40 from the cabinet -- if he was going to do
this, he had to do it right -- and carefully lubricated the hinges on the
basement door.  He slipped off his shoes and opened the door carefully,
then shut it behind him as he stepped slowly down the stairs into the dimly
lit basement.

   "Soo-meul hana, soo-meul deul, soo-meul set..." he heard halfway down
the stairs, and for a second he relaxed.  They were practicing their
counting, apparently in unison as he could hear both their voices.  But his
unease returned a second later when he realized he was hearing something
else, too.  Creaking.  Then Chris missed a number and it all stopped, and
they laughed.

   "C'mon..." Chris said.

   "No, no, we have to start over," Hee-young said.  "Hana, deul, set,
net..." Chris joined in and the creaking started over again.

   "Yeul!" They said, reaching 10.  "Yeul-hana, yeul deul..." "Mmm!" From
Hee-young.

   "Yeul-sot," Chris continued, "Unh!  Yeul il-gohp!  Oh!"

   Mark descended to the bottom of the stairs and, under cover of darkness,
peeked around the corner.  The sight made his head begin to spin and he
gripped the wall to keep his balance.

   The first thing he saw was a few articles of clothing on the floor, and
he thought abstractly that they must have spilled laundry.  But then his
eyes rose to the entwined shape on the bed.  He saw Hee-young's hair spread
out on the pillow, and she had a big grin on her face.  The blanket was
down around their waists so all he could see were their naked torsos. 
Chris was on top of her, his hands planted on either side of Hee-young's
chest.  Her hands were clasping his sides.

   If there was any doubt what was going on under the sheets it was
answered by a simple matter of deduction.  Hee-young's bent legs formed two
triangles in the sheet, kind of a tent, and the cloth between her knees
billowed from Chris's bobbing ass.

   Mark thought it was a dream, but he leaned against the wall and realized
it wasn't.

   "Soh-duhn!" Chris moaned, reaching 30, counting with each thrust of his
hips.  "Soh-duhn hana!  Soh-duhn deul!..."

   "Oh Chris," Hee-young moaned.  "Get to 50, baby...  I want you to get to
50..."

   "Ma-huhn!" Chris groaned, reaching 40.  With each subsequent thrust her
smile grew and she stroked his sides and chest enthusiastically.

   'Shihn!" He groaned, and suddenly all the movement came to a stop.  "I
did it, babe, I did it."

   "You did," she said, and her hands disappeared below the sheets.  "You
hard-working, motivated student.  Now you can take this off."

   Chris wriggled free of something.  As if Mark hadn't resigned himself to
what he was witnessing, he saw a bundle of white get tossed from under the
blanket.  Chris's underwear.

   "You too," Chris said.

   "Nuh-uh," Hee-young said.  "You know the rules."

   Her knees rose back up as Chris settled back down on top of her.  As his
hips rested on hers Hee-young closed her eyes and smiled pleasantly.

   "That's nice," she said.  "It's going to be nice." He began to rock his
hips into her again.

   "Shihn-hana, shihn deul, shihn set..."

   By the time they reached 100 she was clawing at his chest, blowing out
her cheeks, and her knees had thrashed so the one closest Mark had thrust
out from under the blanket.

   "Now," Chris said, rising to his knees.  Hee-young moaned softly and
opened her eyes.  She nodded.

   "Rules are rules," she said, and hoisted her hips in the air as she
wriggled free of something.  A moment later it hit the floor next to
Chris's underwear.  Mark looked close and his heart fell.  It was her black
panties.

   "C'mon, Chris," she said, suddenly pushing back the blankets and
revealing their now-bare midsections.  "I think our lesson is over for the
day.  Time for recess."

   Her knee dropped and Mark saw Chris's penis swaying there.  Then she
raised it again and it disappeared from sight, which was just as well, he
would think later, because as Chris thrust his hips forward and brought
contact between his penis and Hee-young, Mark's wife gasped sharply.  Mark
was glad he didn't see it, but he saw and heard enough.

   "Oh, Chris," she moaned.  "Do that again!"

   He complied, and she let out a rough grunt.  One hand gripped the sheets
and her other hand tore off the sheets entirely.  She once told Mark that
sex made her so hot she couldn't stand blankets on top of even her feet. 
Apparently that was true no matter who she was banging.

   Mark looked at their bodies in the dim light.  Her slim thighs were
thrust so far back that her knees pointed at the wall behind her, and her
feet rested on his ass.  Chris lowered himself to his elbows so their
chests were touching, and Mark saw her perky breasts compress against his
ribs.

   Then Chris began to thrust his hips more vigorously.  The angles were
completely revealing now, and Mark saw Chris's penis arching and slapping
against his wife's vagina, completely unimpeded now except by the simple
mechanics of getting a rock-hard, decent-sized cock to slip into a wet
vagina.

   And then he did it.  The bulging head of his penis caught hold in her
skin.  Chris paused, and then eased his hips forward so his penis slowly
sunk into her slit.  Hee-young moaned intensely and dropped her feet to the
bed.  Her knees drooped to the sheets as she spread her legs wide to usher
him in.  His ass began to bounce as Chris thrust his cock deep into Mark's
wife's vagina.  Mark began to hear a soft slapping sound.

   "Oh, Chris, oh, fuck, yes, YES," Hee-young moaned.  Mark saw Chris's
cock sliding in and out, and the dim light reflected off it as it grew
slick from Hee-young's pussy.

   "Oh, baby you don't even know..." Chris said, now sliding his entire
body horizontally against hers, to create a body-length plane of friction.
"You don't even know how much I WANT this..."

   "Now you got it," Hee-young said, holding her palms down now so his ass
bumped up against them.  "Now you got your Asian girlfriend all hot and
ready, you better show her it's WORTH it...oh!  Yes!  Chris!"

   "Is that worth it?" He moaned, suddenly pushing himself up on his palms,
digging his knees into the bed and pushing his penis so deep that his balls
began to bounce against her.  She said something in Korean.  Chris smiled
and thrust deep, his back arched.

   "Oh, baby, yes, YES!" Hee-young hissed, through her gritted teeth. 
"God, you're so HARD...  so BIG...oh, baby, FUCK me..."

   Their skin slapped sharply now, and the old bed creaked in protest and
bounced off the wall.  His thin muscles bulged and she clawed at her chest.
Mark looked at her.  She was utterly beautiful there, her hips arched into
her lover, her breasts bouncing, her head thrown back in her pillow,
exposing her long neck, her legs getting jounced from the effort.

   Chris saw her neck, too, and kissed it hungrily, and he bit at her ear.
Hee-young whispered appreciatively and grabbed both of his skinny, flexing
ass cheeks with her hands.

   "Hee-young," he said urgently.

   "Oh, Chris, talk to me," she said.  "Is it good?"

   "I never dreamed..."

   "What's good?"

   "Your pussy, so tight...."

   "And you're so BIG, holy, unh!  You're SO big!"

   "Ohh-H-H-H Hee-young..."

   "Say my name..."

   "Hee-young..."

   "SAY it..."

   "HEE-YOUNG!"

   "Work it..."

   Chris's hips seemed to ricochet off Mark's wife now, they were moving so
enthusiastically.  His cock slid out of her until the head of the penis
almost popped out, and then the rod slid back in lustily.  Her hands fell
and gripped his forearms, a sign Mark knew well that meant she was almost
there.

   "Oh, CHRIS!" She cried, and Mark saw the characteristic shudder start in
her feet, run up to her legs, and into her belly and chest as she orgasmed.
Chris cried out.

   "You're squeezing it..." he gasped.  Again, Mark could empathize.  When
she orgasmed her vagina clamped down like a hand opening a tight jar.

   "Oh, BA-BABY," he moaned.

   "COME, Chris!" She belted out, barely coherently.

   "I'm coming!" He moaned, and gripped Hee-young fiercely, their skin
pressed together.

   At that moment Mark had enough.

   "Hey!" He shouted, coming out of the shadows.  The effect was electric.
Chris rolled off his wife.  aHis penis came out of her with an audible pop!
and semen sprayed about the bed.  Hee-young shrieked and pulled a blanket
over herself.

   They all looked at each other for a moment.

   "It's not how it looks," Hee-young said, finally.  Mark laughed.

   "He...  forced me," she whispered.

   "I saw it all," Mark said.  "And you were not a woman being forced to
have sex.  You were loving every minute of it."

   He stormed back upstairs, gathered a few things and went out into the
storm.  It was so bad that he couldn't leave the hotel for two days.  When
he finally came back to the house Chris's truck was still there, and the
door was locked.  Mark looked in a window and saw the cushions on the
upstairs couch were knocked all about.  Then he signed in resignation. 
Among the cushions were two pairs of wadded underwear.